Description of the C.S.S. Virginia

The CSS Virginia was one of the earliest ironclad fighting
ships. Its easy destruction of several wooden ships on March 8, 1862,
signaled the end of the era of wooden naval vessels.

When the Union decided to blockade the South, the Confederacy knew
it needed to strengthen its navy. A number of designs for ironclad
ships had been proposed and some ironclads had been

The USS Merrimack, commissioned in 1856, was burned to the
waterline when the Union forces abandoned the Norfolk Naval Yards in
April 1861. The Confederacy raised the ship a few weeks later and
rebuilt her with iron plate armor based upon a design by Lt. J. M.
Brooke, CSN. The ship was commissioned as the
CSS Virginia in February 1862. Limited supplies and the new
design delayed her sailing until March 8, 1862.

The Virginia was 275 feet long with a 38.5 foot beam and a
draft of 22 feet. Between the sluggish engine and the deep draft, the
Virginia was difficult to maneuver. There are different
reports as to her ordnance. Lt. Wood reports that there were two
7-inch Brooke rifles, two similar 6-inch Brooke rifles, and six
9-inch Dahlgren smooth-bore broadside. (The
Dictionary of American Ships adds two 12-pound howitzers.)
The original specifications for the Virginia called for eight
9-inch rifled Dahlgren shell guns, two 7-inch Dahlgren pivot guns.
(See the picture of a Dahlgren
gun and more about the Heavy Artillery
of the Civil War.)

After the battle with the Monitor, the Virginia was
repaired in Portsmouth at the Gosport Naval Yard, and patrolled
Hampton Roads. The Monitor was under orders not to engage the
Virginia and so stayed under the protective guns of Fortress
Monroe.

When Norfolk was being evacuated by the Confederates, the
Virginia was lightened in an attempt to sail up the James
River. However, her deep draft was still too much. With the wooden
hull exposed, the ship was not battle-worthy. On the night of May 11,
1862, Flag Officer Tattnall ordered her grounded off Craney Island
and set fire.

Draft information

According to testimony by the Naval Constructor, John L. Porter,
during the court-martial of Josiah
Tattnall, the draft of the Virginia, after conversion and
adding armor, the draft was 17' forward, 18' aft. With supplies and
armament added (for her initial sailing on March 8), she was 20' 10"
forward, 21' 6" aft. (Porter doesn't mention adding ballast to
correct a miscalculation on the buoyancy, but that must have been
between these two measurements.) After further armor was added after
the battle with the Monitor, he estimates the draft to be 22'
forward, 23' aft.